Kidnapped sisters in Sulu were filming 'armalite-picking' coffee farmers

By Amanda Fernandez

Published June 28, 2013 10:10pm

An uncle of two independent filmmaker sisters who were kidnapped by suspected Abu Sayaff bandits last Saturday in Sulu province stressed that his nieces were working on a film about coffee farmers when they were abducted.

"They did not go there to do a documentary on the so-called Sulu Sultanate Darul Islam (SSDI), contrary to some new reports. They also never planned to interview members of the the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)," Edd Usman, uncle of sisters Nadjoua and Linda Bansil, said in a statement.

Usman released the statement Friday after Sulu Governor Abdusakar Tan said on Wednesday that he suspects the sisters planned to interview members of the ASG.

"Baka hindi (coffee farmers) ang pakay ng mga ito dahil magfi-filming sila sa area ng ASG. Doon pa sila natulog noong 22nd," Tan said.

"Armalite-picking" coffee

Quoting a concept paper written by Nadjoua, the sisters' uncle Usman said the documentary is about "a journey of farmers and evolution of coffee in a war-torn Sulu and how coffee farmers (are) left with no choice but to 'armalite'-pick their coffee beans in order to survive."

Usman said "armalite-picking" refers to the Tausug coffee farmers' rapid harvesting of coffee beans, "picking the ripe and even unripe ones, always fearful that gun battles can erupt anytime and prevent them from harvesting their coffee in their farms."

"It is evident that when conflicts arise in the area, the coffee delivery is halted. However in this documentary we will not delve in these coffee (shop) chains and products, but (we) will focus more on the ordinary lives of farmers who till the land and make all these possible," said Nadjoua in her concept paper.

No coordination with police

In a phone interview with GMA News Online, Police Senior Inspector Kris Conrad Gutierrez, Patikul town chief of police, said the area where the sisters planned to film is a known stronghold of the terrorist group.

He added that the two did not inform police about their plans to film in the area.

"Hindi nila kami sinabihan, baka kasi alam nilang hindi namin sila papayagan," he said.

"Papunta sila sa Mount Sinumaan, e kilalang may maraming Abu Sayyaf doon," he added.

Gutierrez said they could have offered alternative locations to where the sisters can film.

"Maraming coffee farms dito, kung sinabihan kami, sana nabigyan namin ng alternative, na mas ligtas, at pati na rin escort," he said. "Nakakataka kasi doon talaga sila sa kilalang [bailiwick of ASG]."

In an earlier phone interview with GMA News Online, JM Diego, a close friend and a fellow filmmaker, said the two women had applied for a grant for the documentary, and while waiting for approval, they decided to head over to Sulu to shoot.

Quoting Mohammed Bansil, younger brother of the sisters, Usman said the sisters were assured of their safety by some of their "Tausug friends," including Yazir Rajim of the SSDI.

"Without the assurances of their Tausug friends, we would never have allowed Nadj and Lin to go to Sulu, knowing from news reports and some friends about the risks," Mohammed said, using the nicknames of his sisters.

"We took their assurances as guarantee that nothing untoward would happen to Nadj and Lin; that they would protect my sisters from any harm," he added.

Appeal for release

Meanwhile, in a separate video message uploaded on Youtube, Mohammed and brother Zackaria appealed for the release of their sisters.

"Kami po'y humihingi sa inyo, bilang kapwa Muslim, na palayain niyo na po sila. Wala po silang ginagawang masama sa Jolo, Sulu," Mohammed said

"Sila po'y mga advocate ng kapayapaan at kultura po ng Moro sa Mindanao," he added.

"Sila po'y masisipag na tao at karaniwang tao lang po. Parehas lang po tayong mahihirap. Sana palayain niyo na po sila," Mohammed said.

They also called for assistance from government officials and groups, including President Benigno Aquino III, Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu, Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan, and the MILF and MNLF groups.

Earlier, in a post on its official news site Luwaran, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Wednesday said it would help secure the release of the two independent filmmakers.

The group noted that the victims' father is the late Ustadz Abdulbasset Bansil of Sultan Sa Barongis in Maguindanao, who the group described as someone who "spoke English and French (and) was a member of the Shariah Bar in the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, two suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits were killed while five others were wounded as government security forces continued searching for the two sisters in Sulu, local Marine commander Colonel Jose Cenabre.

Members of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group opened fire on a military helicopter in the southern island of Jolo on Thursday, prompting the armed forces to counter-attack, he said

"The aerial attack was launched immediately on the area which led to the two killed, followed by a ground assault," Cenabre said. — ELR/HS, GMA News

Tags: kidnapping, abduction